RotLW Chapter 5: The Family
It was just after dawn when Marcus and Lucy West walked out of Megaton. After he had disarmed the bomb, Marcus carefully removed Burke's device and the plutonium it was attached to. This made the bomb completely safe, and it was then that Lucas Simms gave Marcus the deed and keys to his own house. It was nothing more than a rusted shack, no different from Lucy's, but at least Marcus had a place where he could lay his head down. After removing the plutonium core, the members of the Children of Atom cult dropped to their knees and began worshipping "The Heart of Atom" as they called it. Not seeing the harm in it, Marcus handed the core to them, and they promised to keep it in their shrine forever. There was one man, however, who did not hold Marcus in such high regard. "Little bastard!" Colin Moriarty cursed as he smashed his computer terminal with his fist. "He thinks he can make a fool out of me! ME!" Moriarty's head bodyguard, Jericho, looked on as his boss fumed. "Let me and Sister take care of this little fuck once and for all, boss." Sister was the name of Moriarty's second bodyguard; an ex-slaver who once served Eulogy Jones in Paradise Falls. In the underworld of organized crime, Moriarty and Eulogy were rivals, but they had maintained a truce for many years. "No." Moriarty replied. "I may need you two here in case these sheep start thinkin' this town is actually theirs." He opened a whiskey bottle and took a swig. "Call our friends in Talon Company and Paradise Falls. Tell them '1000 caps for the kid from Vault 101 alive.'" Jericho and Sister both looked at each other. "Alive?" Sister asked. Moriarty nodded. "Yes. The girl he's with, I don't care what they do, but I want him alive!" Jericho clenched his fist. He did not like this, but he knew better than to bite the hand that fed him...for now. "Alright boss, we're on it." Both of the hired thugs left. Moriarty sat down on his bed and took another swig of whiskey. It was clear his men did not understand why he wanted the kid brought back alive. After all, killing this upstart would be easy. With a bounty like that, no one in the wasteland would last very long. This kid had proven to be disrespectful, rash, sneaky, resourceful, and more importantly, possessing a huge pair of balls. As Moriarty stared at the picture on his nightstand of a young woman with short red hair he thought: 'And that's exactly the kind of person I need.' Marcus and Lucy had been walking for almost an hour when they encountered some local wildlife: a ten foot long radioactive ant to be exact. "Holy shit that's a big fucking ant!" Marcus yelled as the creature charged them. Quickly activating his V.A.T.S, Marcus targeted it's head and fired three 10mm rounds into it. The bullets slowed the creature down, but it was still coming head on. When it was only a few feet away, Lucy fired both barrels of her sawed-off shotgun, finally killing the ant. Marcus lowered his gun and studied the creature. One of the scout reports he had downloaded contained a picture of a giant ant, but nothing could have prepared him for this. "Unbelievable." He turned to Lucy. "Are all the insects out here this big?" Lucy shook her head. "Not all of them, but enough to make life out here pretty dangerous." Marcus continued to examine the ant. It's hide felt as tough as the Kevlar he was wearing; which explained why three shots from his pistol barely slowed it down. He was going to need a bigger gun to take down monsters like this. For now he would have to aim for the creature's weak spot. Marcus had read somewhere that ants where helpless without their antennas. Next time he would aim for them. "We should really get going." Lucy said with unease in her voice. Marcus was not about to argue. They walked well into the afternoon, stopping only to eat and quench their thirst. Thankfully they did not encounter any more creatures, but soon a burned out structure came into view. According to the PIPBOY's old world map, this two-story building was once called: Kaelyn's Bed and Breakfast. Marcus wasn't sure what that was, but as he and Lucy got closer they could see movement. "Raiders!" Lucy said as she pushed Marcus to the ground behind a boulder. "How do you know?" Marcus whispered. Lucy removed an old pair of army binoculars from her bag and peaked just over the boulder. "Here, take a look." Marcus took the binoculars and he zeroed in on the building. What he saw made him sick to his stomach. The outside and inside of the bed and breakfast was decorated with mutilated bodies. On top of the what remained of the roof were severed heads on pikes. "My God!" Marcus gasped. He forced himself to continue observing. "Looks like they're six of them." He lowered the binoculars and looked at Lucy. "You think we can take'm?" Lucy was taken by surprise by his question. "Most people try to avoid Raiders." "Maybe," Marcus looked back towards the camp with a murderous stare. ",but I think we'd be doing the world a favor." This was a side to Marcus that Lucy had not yet seen. It was puzzling to her, that Marcus would risk his life to avenge people he didn't know. They were both good in a fight, but to attack a Raider camp... "We would have to sneak up in them somehow." she said. Marcus agreed. Surprise was the only advantage they would have. He looked around and saw only open ground between them and the camp. He noticed that the bed and breakfast was resting at the foot of a hill that was not much taller than the building. If they could get to the top if that hill, they would have the high ground and outflank the Raiders. Marcus looked over at Lucy. A plan was forming in his head; he only hoped that she would go along with it. "I have a plan, but I need to ask you something." "What?" A slight grin unconscious appeared on Marcus' face. "What are you wearing underneath all if that?" It didn't take long for the lookout to notice the blonde female approaching their camp. "Hey boss, I got movement at 12 o'clock!" The Raider's leader picked up his binoculars. "Finally! I could use some action." He scanned the horizon and quickly spotted the girl. She was alone, carrying a small pack and walking straight for them like she didn't have a care in the world. If that wasn't strange enough, she was dressed in nothing but a bikini top and shorts. "Holy shit!" the Raider salivated. He rubbed his eyes and looked again. If this was a Jet trip, then it was the best high he had ever been on. "Come on boys, let's show this bitch a good time!" The rest of the Raiders picked up their weapons and followed. Lucy was only a few yards away from the building when the Raiders stepped outside. They stopped and stared at her like wolves eyeing a piece of meat. She quickly swallowed her fear and began to play her part. "Hey boys!" she began tugging playfully on her bra strap. "What's a girl gotta do to get a place to sleep around here?" The Raiders stood there dumbfounded. If this was not a dream, then this was the craziest bitch they had ever seen. Any reservations they had evaporated when Lucy pulled down on the strap, revealing her left breast. The Raiders began moving forward. Lucy forced herself to smile as the lead Raider was now face to face with her. "Oh yeah, baby!" he said as he reached for her. Three shots rang out in rapid succession, and three of the six Raiders were struck down. The lead Raider spun around and spotted Marcus; perched on top of the hill overlooking the camp with his 10mm pistol in hand. He turned back to Lucy, who had just pulled her sawed-off shotgun out of her bag. The blast blew the Raider's chest out; knocking him back several feet. Another Raider standing to Lucy's left met the same fate as she emptied her second barrel. But the last Raider charged at her with a crowbar. "You dirty bitch!" Marcus, unable to wait for the V.A.T.S to reset, took aim and opened fire. Four of the six rounds hit the Raider, who slammed into Lucy and died on top of her. Marcus half ran and half slid down the hill and made his way over to her. "Are you alright?" Lucy managed to push the dead Raider off of her and she quickly stood up. "I'm just PEACHY, thanks!" Marcus was struck by her out burst; and the fact that both of her breast were exposed. During the brief ambush, he hadn't noticed how beautiful she was. Now that it was over... Lucy realized the state she was in and quickly crossed her arms. "Turn around!" Marcus was snapped out of his trance. "Oh...um...sorry." As Lucy began to put her clothes back on, a small smile appeared on her face. A few moments ago, when she had exposed herself to the Raiders, she had felt dirty and degraded. But when Marcus had seen her, Lucy felt feminine and empowered. "Okay," she said as she buckled her belt, "I'm decent again." Marcus turned back around. "Are you sure you're alright?" Lucy nodded. "Yeah. Listen, there's a good chance these Raiders had friends, so we better get what we can and move on." Marcus holstered his pistol. "Let's do it." After searching the dead Raiders and their camp, the young travelers had a pretty good bounty. In addition to food and some purified water, Marcus found a .32 caliper hunting rifle and thirty rounds of ammo to go along with it. The weapon reminded him of the BB gun he had used growing up, and Marcus knew it would shoot straighter and farther than his pistol. Lucy managed to find twelve more rounds for her sawed-off, along with a combat knife. They continued walking and covered another three miles before they decided to stop and make camp for the night. While Lucy started a fire, Marcus removed his boots and began rubbing his feet. They were covered in blisters and throbbing. "Man, I think I've walked more today than in my entire life." Lucy chuckled and sat down on the log next to him. "I'd imagine you didn't do much walking while living underground." Lucy removed a bottle of water from her bag and tossed it to him. "What was it like, living in a Vault?" Marcus took a sip of the precious water. "It was...nice. We always had plenty of food, clean water, clean cloths. We had everything you could ever hope for." Lucy took a drink from her cantine. "Wow! Sounds like paradise." Marcus took another drink, then spit on the ground. "We had everything...except our freedom." Lucy was surprised at his statement. "What do you mean?" Marcus stared into the fire. "It's funny but, I didn't realise it until that day I escaped. Everything in the Vault seemed so perfect-as long as everyone did what they were told. Everyone had a place, and as long as you stayed in it, everything was fine." His voice became bitter as he continued. "The one time someone dared challenge the 'status quo', the Overseer and his goons showed their true colors." Lucy listened to him intently. Though she could see how telling this story upset him, she continued to press. "What happened?" Marcus took a deep breath. "I saw one of my best friends killed in front of me; all because he wouldn't tell them what they wanted to know. I saw two guards gun down an unarmed man and his wife because they tried to leave. I killed them both to save the woman. Before I escaped I caught up Chief Hannon, the man who murdered my friend. I put three bullets into his chest without hesitating. I did it for revenge and nothing more." He looked over at Lucy. "And that makes me no better then them." Lucy slowly reached out and touched his right arm. "He killed your friend. What you did...well, out here it would be considered justice. Just like those Raiders we killed, this Chief Hannon had to be dealt with. If more people stepped up like you did, there would be less evil in this world." Marcus stared back at the fire. He hadn't thought about any of this since that terrible day, and it was just now beginning to hit him. He had killed; for self defense and revenge. But was justice and revenge one in the same? Maybe it was sometimes. His father once said that: "all evil needs to succeed is for good men to do nothing." There was no doubt that killing those Raiders probably saved the lives of dozens of people traveling that part of the wasteland. And maybe killing Chief Hannon would weaken the grip the Overseer had on his people. Still, in his quest to destroy evil, would Marcus become evil himself? He rubbed his forehead: 'So many questions,' he thought. Lucy decided that it was time to change the subject. "Were you allowed to, you know...see anyone?" Marcus let out a small sigh of relief. "Yes. In fact we were encouraged to pro-create, but each couple was limited to only one child." Lucy braced herself before asking the next question. "Where you ever...involved with anyone?" This time Marcus smiled. "Yes. Amata Almodovar was her name." Lucy's heart sank. "Oh. Were you married?" "No we had to keep our relationship a secret. You see, she was the Overseer's daughter." Lucy's eyes got wide. "That sounds dangerous." Marcus nodded. "It was, but I think...that made it even more hotter." Lucy could see the excitement in Marcus' eyes as he talked about his old flame-and it was beginning to annoy her. "Do you plan on seeing her again?" The excitement that was in his eyes quickly vanished. "I don't think I'll ever see her again. If I go back, they'll either shoot me on sight or arrest me; then shoot me later." Despite the tears forming in his eyes, Marcus looked over at Lucy. She was still holding his arm, and he realized that she had inched closer to him during their conversation. Marcus stared into her blue eyes, made even more brilliant by the glow of the fire. Lucy slowly moved in for a kiss, but at the last moment, Marcus backed up. "You um...should get some sleep. I'll take the first watch." Lucy exhaled with disappointment. "Okay." Marcus quickly stood up and walked over to the other side of the campfire. As he stood there staring into the darkness, he couldn't help but wonder if he'd make the right choice with Lucy. She was beautiful, and she possessed a strength that he loved and admired-just like Amata. Amata. He ached to see her so badly that it hurt. He looked over his shoulder at Lucy as she layed down for the night. It was true that he would probably never see Amata again, and starting a relationship with Lucy West could be the beginning of something wonderful. But until his heart could except what was in his head, Marcus would not start anything. It wouldn't be fair to Lucy, or to him. He stared up at the moon, and he stood in awe at the awesome sight. But as he wiped his tears away, he would gladly never see the moon again for one more chance to see Amata Almodovar. At first light the two travelers continued north towards Arefu. As the approached the Potomac River, they were attacked by another giant ant. This time Marcus used his hunting rifle and targeted the creature's antennas. The animal was sent into a frenzy, and this allowed Lucy to move in and blast it with her sawed-off. By noon the overpass which the town rested on was within sight. "There it is! Home!" Marcus could see the excitement in her eyes as they moved closer. But soon he could see a dark haze hovering over the town. "Is that smoke?" Lucy stopped dead in her tracks, and her excitement was replaced by a feeling of dread. Frantically she struggled for the binoculars in her bag. "No, no, no, no!" She peered through the optics, and a knot formed in her stomach. The town of Arefu, her home, was burned to the ground. She took off running, and Marcus had to push himself to the limit just to catch up with her. Lucy made it to a small farm at the foot of the overpass owned by Mr. and Mrs. Ewers. There was nothing left but dead brahmin in a pen, and the smoldering shell of the farm itself. Lucy sprinted up the ramp which led to the rest of the town. Marcus was right behind her with his rifle at the ready. "Mom! Dad! Ian!" Marcus grabbed her by the arm. "Lucy wait!" He spun her around so that she faced him. "Whoever did this might still be here." "But my family..." "You will not help them if you're dead!" He countered. "Let's take it slow." Lucy relented. She removed her sawed-off and they slowly entered the town. The first thing they came upon was a hastily constructed barricade. Behind it were two bodies, on of which Lucy recognized immediately. "My God, it's Evan King!" "Who is he?" "Our 'mayor' for lack of a better term." They kneeled down to examine the bodies. Evan King was still clutching a combat shotgun, which Marcus carefully removed. "They look like they were killed by an animal." Lucy said. Marcus could see why Lucy thought that. Both men had claw and bite marks all over them. "Maybe, but animals don't set fires." Lucy stared up the road. "My families' house is just up ahead." The West residence was still smoldering when Marcus kicked in the front door. The back half of the house had caved in, but it didn't matter. The body of Ian West, Lucy's brother, was found just a few feet from the door; with an empty .38 in one hand and a bloodied knife in the other. His body was in much the same shape as Evan King's; only this body appeared to have been...gnawed upon. There was no sign of Lucy's parents. "Oh Ian!" Lucy cried as she dropped to her knees. Marcus placed his hand on her shoulder as she wept. "I'm sorry." "I should've been here! I could've...I..." "You would've been killed too." "You don't know that!" Lucy snapped. Marcus removed his hand. Deciding she needed time alone, Marcus explored the rest of the town. As he suspected, there were no survivors. Marcus noticed a pair of legs sticking out from under a plank and he decided to investigate. He pulled the plank off the body, and smell of burnt flesh hit his nostrils. The body was only partially burned, and this allowed Marcus to see the clothing that it was wearing. The jumpsuit was in tatters, but there was no mistaking the three large numbers on the back: 106. "Impossible!" Marcus said. Lucy came up from behind him and stared at the body. "I don't recognize him." "Is there a Vault nearby?" He asked. "There's one south-west of here, but no ones ever come out of it." 'Until now', Marcus thought. "I think it's safe to say the whoever is in that Vault attacked your town; and took your parents." Lucy grabbed Marcus' arm. "Then they may still be alive! We have to go to that Vault and find them!" Marcus looked around once more at the devastation. "Lucy, they may not be alive by the time we get there." "Please, you have to help me! You know the layout of these Vaults. Please! They're the only family I have left!" Marcus stared into her tear filled eyes. He understood all too well the desperation in Lucy's voice. In one terrible moment she had lost her home, her brother, and everyone she had ever known. And just as he would go to the ends of the earth to find his father, Lucy would stop at nothing to find her parents. "Alright, I'll take you there." Lucy threw her arms around him, and Marcus hugged her back. He didn't realize just how much he needed one until this moment. Marcus and Lucy buried Ian West in the brahmin pen at the Ewer's farm. While Lucy said her final goodbyes, Marcus scavenged the town for whatever he could find. He decided to keep Evan King's combat shotgun, figuring it would be the perfect weapon in the close quarters of the Vault. He found two full ammo drums for the gun, each holding twelve rounds of 12 gauge buckshot. Aside from a crate of four frag grenades, there was nothing of value left in the town. He made his way down the ramp and waited for Lucy. After a few minutes she joined him. "Are you ready?" He asked. Lucy placed two fresh rounds inside her sawed-off and slapped it shut. Her grieve had given way to determination and blood lust. "Let's go." ---- Written by coastierks. Category:Rise of the Lone Wanderer Category:Fallout